Ed the Architect

My next destination was Paul Rudolph's 1962 Sarasota High School. While this building is characterized as an addition to the existing 1927 Collegiate Gothic style high school it is, in fact, a completely separate building having little to do with the original.

This is an important building in Rudolph's career demonstrating his transition away from small residential projects in lightweight wood to larger civic ones in concrete. However, Rudolph's use of concrete in this building is more akin to the International Style Modernists than the Brutalists he will soon become associated with. This building is still lightweight- after all, the entire facade is hung - and white.

This is a monumental building raised on a landscape plinth with a wide processional stair leading to a giant 3-bay entry portal defined by deep concrete piers. This building's structural module is insistent and repetitive. It's circulation is prescriptive. It's said that students don't like it much -- but I do!

Clearly, a large part of the design is devoted to passive cooling. There is the layered sunscreen hung from the projected roof like stalactites and the breezeways that offer respite from both the sun and the grid. On the second floor, there are outdoor enclosed walkways with open skylights, posing a significant issue during inclement weather.